Lucerne on its lake, with a view onto the River Reuss and the City Hall with its tower

(Imago/Volker Preuer)

Town hall and reformed church in Sils-Maria in Engadine, canton Graubünden

(Imago/Volker Preuer)

The high tech version: St Gallen City Hall and municipal administration building

(imago stock&people)

The Ascona Town Hall and the buildings from the 16th century make this former fishing village on the Lake Maggiore in canton Ticino an attractive spot

(imago/Joana Kruse)

Basel’s City Hall is a building of magnificence and prestige. It dominates the city’s Marktplatz, with its red sandstone and tower really making it stand out. In 1290 the political heart of Basel was established on this same spot

(imago/Lindenthaler)

The town hall in St Moritz. Its façade was renovated in 2010

(imago/Lindenthaler)

The town hall “Hôtel de Ville” in Le Locle, a watchmaking centre in the Swiss Jura, was built from 1839-1841.

(KEYSTONE/Jean-Christophe Bott)

The magnificent castle and town hall in Nyon, on Lake Geneva, was built at the end of the 13th century by the Dukes of Savoy

(KEYSTONE/Martial Trezzini)

The town hall in Courtelary in the Bernese Jura was once the prefecture. The castle dates from 1606

(KEYSTONE/Christian Beutler)

Another testament to the Middle Ages: the Town Hall and its square in the Thun’s old town

(KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally)

Functional and practical: the Town Hall and Post Office in Hirschthal in canton Aargau

(KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally)

Bondo Town Hall in Bergell in canton Graubünden

(KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally)

Swiss post-war architecture – the town hall in Riehen in canton Basel City

(KEYSTONE/Georgios Kefalas)

A combination of old and new: the Hôtel de Ville in Bussigny, canton Vaud. Architects Bakker & Blanc renovated the town hall (right) in 2006 and added a cube-like hall which has a facade made out of wood and metal

(KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally)

Another old/new combination. The town hall in Egerkingen in canton Solothurn is made up of an old mill (left) and the new administration building, a flat roof construction of glass and steel

(KEYSTONE/Sigi Tischler)

Town hall and church in the centre of Stierva, which lies above the Albula valley in Graubünden

(KEYSTONE/Arno Balzarini)

Hôtel de Ville in Moutier, the capital of the Bernese Jura, part of Canton Bern. The building remains a battleground in deciding the political affiliation of this small town. The current mayor would like to transfer its allegiance to Canton Jura

(KEYSTONE/Stefan Meyer)

A splendid testament to its medieval heritage: Bern City Hall. The parliaments of the city of Bern and of the canton of Bern city in its council hall

(KEYSTONE/Juerg Mueller)

Apr 30, 2016 - 11:00

An imposing castle, an ordinary multi-purpose building, a compact skyscraper, a modern cube – Swiss city halls are highly varied in their appearance and history. But all fulfill their purpose as an interface between citizens and the authorities. Switzerland couldn’t function without them.

Bern City Hall, dating from the 15th century, was once the seat of the Bern elite. Here, behind the thick sandstone walls, the councillors - all rich and from the nobility - sat together and made decisions about their subjects. Then Napoleon came and ended the regime.

Nowadays this former symbol of lack of freedom and oppression is the building where a democratically-elected local parliament decides, publically, how the city and canton should best be organised.

This transformation is a speculator, but not isolated one. Other city and town halls are more marked by their style than by their histories. They are all visual witnesses to diversity; a fundamental principle of Swiss democracy.